Author's Note: Hey, Everyone. Author's Note in the beginning this time because I have lots to say before you read. So I won't be pestering you later... hehe. First off, I apologize for being late. This chapter was a little more difficult than the others (geez, you would have thought it would be the last one, but no) ones, so it needed more time to sit etc. Which brings me to my first announcement. I now have a wonderful Beta Reader, Runadaemon, who has helped me improve this chapter quite a bit, especially in figuring out my OC Hayate (thank you guys for your comments about him too!). So a big thanks to Runadaemon for being awesome. Second announcement of awesomeness, yay over 150 reviews! That totally made my day, so you guys rock... at life. Third announcement, you're going to take a look at the chapter title in a minute and either laugh or be like this O.O? So please let it be known that I do not hate puppies. In fact I like puppies. There's this cute golden retriver puppy that is out on walks every morning when I'm driving to school and I'm always like 'squee, puppy!"... yeah, you get the idea. I don't hate animals and I'm not trying to offend any animal rights activists. Because quite frankly I know a lot of animal rights activists and they would beat me up... Yeah. So. I think I've gotten out everything that needed to be said. So without further ado, enjoy the chapter.


Chapter Seven: Kicking Puppies

Ren and Kyouko parted ways when they reached the cafeteria where the other actors and tech crew were enjoying lunch. They hadn't said much to each other on the short walk there and both felt there was something meaningful left unsaid. What that was, they did not know.

Kyouko took a seat between Sorata and Kanae, breaking out her chopsticks eagerly. "Mmm, so hungry," she declared to prove her point. Kanae eyed her surreptitiously and tried not to laugh.

Sorata was all business. "Kyouko-chan, have you given any thought to your date for Ogata-kun's wedding?"

Kyouko winced and moaned her displeasure. "Sorata-san, can't I just bring Moko-san?"

"No," Sorata replied firmly. "Besides, Kotonami-chan is already going to the wedding with someone else."

"What?" Kyouko turned her saucer-eyes to her best friend. "When did that happen? Why didn't you tell me? Mooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkooooooooooo-saaaaaaannnnnnnn?"

Kanae shoved Kyouko off her elbow rather harshly. "Yashiro-san asked me yesterday evening," she said rather blandly. "I didn't have time to tell you, since you were late getting to could have at least gotten a date the way you dawdled for so long," she added for good measure to emphasize that she was completely innocent in this entire business.

"Awww, Moko-san has a date!" Kyouko cried gleefully, tugging at Kanae's elbow again, this time teasing instead of complaining. Kanae replied by tossing Kyouko off her arm again.

"It's no big deal," Kanae said, though she was starting to turn an excellent shade of red. "What's more important is that you do not have a date for the wedding!"

A dark cloud seemed to cast itself over Kyouko. Kanae wouldn't have been surprised if rain drops started falling, followed by thunder and bolts of lightning for dramatic effect. "What do I do?" she wailed, feeling rather annoyed that this was the second problem today that she did not know how to deal with. At least she wasn't running to Ren again for this one. That would be embarrassing and mortifying on so many levels.

"Tch," Kanae said sourly. "Just take a co-worker. It's sort of expected at these sorts of events so no one will think it's strange. Besides, anyone would benefit from attending a wedding with you."

Kyouko gave her a clueless look and Kanae turned to Sorata for help. "You explain to her about publicity and the press. I'm tagging out on this one."

Sorata sighed. "What Kotonami-chan is saying is that the press will be watching the wedding. Since you're a rather popular starlet at this point, anyone you take will get noticed because he's with you. Therefore, a co-worker would be very likely to go with you to Ogata-kun's wedding."

Kyouko was still confused, but she didn't think any further explanations would make her understand the deep, complicated inner workings of stardom and the media. Sorata would guide her in that department and that was all she needed to know.

"Just ask Tsuruga-san," Kanae told her irritably. "You're friends, co-workers, and it's good publicity for Duty Binds Us. Everybody wins."

"She has a point," Sorata admitted.

Meanwhile Kyouko flushed a bright red at the prospect of asking Ren to be her wedding date. After today… after the whole kissing thing, and him ignoring her, and then their awkward conversation on the way to the cafeteria… well suffice to say she'd rather have a good month to let things blow over before she even thought about asking Ren something like that.

"I'm going to be pathetically dateless, aren't I?" she thought.


Kyouko needed a costume change and additional makeup, so it took at least another half hour or so after lunch before they were ready to film the next scene. She was loaded into a military open caravan with a few other soldiers. Her stiff and formal jacket was gone, replaced instead by torn, dirtied, and fake-bloodied garments that looked anything but new. Her face was coated in a sweat-sheen layer of dirt and a crusted cut had been artfully added to her left cheek.

Another twenty minutes or so elapsed because the scene took place on the dusty, winding roads that led up to the main set—the military base. It was slightly chaotic transporting the proper equipment about a mile off-site.

"This wasn't exactly in the script, Mogami-chan, but we decided that we should add this scene in as a nice contrast to the original first scene," Hakimori explained. "There are no lines. We'll be filming some moving shots of Rin returning from the mission-gone-wrong three months before the start of the series. Your job is to look empty, shocked, and broken on this journey. Think about how Rin feels after she's just seen the man she loves die."

Kyouko smiled at the scatterbrained director. "I think I understand," she said.

"That's my girl," Hakimori replied fondly. "Okay, let's get this started!" He took his place next to one of the technical producers.

The scene wasn't too difficult for Kyouko. She had already given a significant amount of thought to Rin's feelings about Ichirou. Rin was a raw ball of emotion and pain but too strong to dare cry out in misery. Within a few hours of losing Ichirou she would have quickly dried up her tears and walled off her suffering.

Of course, all her comrades knew how she should have felt. They knew about Ichirou and Rin and they watched her to see when she would break. They were expecting her to collapse, and for that reason, Rin's pride would not permit her to fall.

Kyouko lifted her head to gaze ruefully out of the convoy as the cameras started rolling. Her gaze was blank, seeing and registering nothing of the dusty, rolling countryside that unfolded before her. She tilted her face to cast the proper shadows over her eyes. Her hair, that would usually be so neat, fell in stringy pieces around her cheeks. She didn't have the will to clear them out of her eyes.

"I'm breaking," Kyouko thought, trying to capture the proper facial expression. "I'm breaking and I can't say a word. No one is there for me now. No one is going to pick me up when I fall or… " She didn't know what else to add, but she was already feeling miserable.

The convoy hit a bump in the road, jostling the occupants of the vehicle. Rin's fellow soldiers braced themselves against the movement, but Kyouko slid with it. The male soldier, that Kyouko was pretty sure was Rin's friend, Tenshou, shifted her back into position. She didn't acknowledge him at all.


Kyouko was smiling when she got off the caravan back at the main set. She could see Sorata and Kanae waving at her in the crowd of onlookers, but she couldn't find the one face she was looking for. In between takes, she had decided that she really needed to apologize to Ren. Obviously the reason he was ignoring her and acting strangely was because he regretted helping her.

Therefore the only logical solution would be to apologize profusely and hope that he forgave her. Their friendship could be on the line!

Pushing through the crowd to get to her dressing room, Kyouko looked desperately for Ren. And there he was. She could just make out his unmistakable figure heading towards the make-up trailer.

"Tsuruga-san!"

He didn't turn around.

"Maybe he didn't hear me," she thought. "Or maybe he really is angry with me…"


As the sun began to set, they moved the cameras and equipment indoors to shoot scenes in the mess tent and officers' club. Kanae sat regally on a bar stool, dressed in her captain's uniform—even more ornate than Ren's—and swirled a cup of water absently in her fingers.

Ren sat next to her as Akio, less sure of himself, but set at ease by her relaxed manners. Kanae played a flawless Captain Hikari. She was a strong woman, passionate about her duty with a firm sense of justice and righteousness.

Kyouko watched off-set. She realized that she had never really seen Kanae act before, much less with Ren. It was interesting to see the two people she considered the best actors she knew take the stage together. She watched avidly.

"Rough day, new guy?"

"Just a long one."

Their expressions were perfect. Kanae looked at Ren out of the corner of her eye. Her smile was faint but there. She was amused. Ren looked tired but happy.

"Oh, Sorata-san," Kyouko said turning to her manager, who happened to be standing nearby with Yashiro. "This is so cool!"

Sorata smiled at Kyouko's profound joy. "Yes, they are some of the best actors I've ever seen," she replied.

"They're not just some of the best," Kyouko protested, scandalized. "They are the best!"

"Who's the best?" Kyouko turned to see Hayate standing behind her with an expectant, puppy-like look on his face. "Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "I couldn't help overhearing."

"No, it's all right," Kyouko said automatically, though if she thought about it, it seemed like a lie. "We were just talking about how amazing Tsuruga-san and Moko-san are and how much of a treat it is to see them acting together."

Hayate nodded. "Yes, they are very good. I've never seen anything like it." He paused a moment. "It still doesn't compare to your acting, Mogami-chan."

Kyouko blushed, feeling uncomfortable. Sorata made a strangled sort of coughing noise.

"I'll have to go tuxedo shopping after this," Hayate said casually.

"Whatever for?" Kyouko asked.

"I'm supposed to go to a wedding. A friend from the last drama I worked on is getting married on Friday," he said.

In the distance Yashiro heard Hakimori yell cut. "That wouldn't be Director Ogata's wedding, would it?" he said rather loudly, hoping Ren would hear. Sorata gave him a "you're so transparent it's shameful" look. But apparently not transparent enough for Kyouko to notice.

"Yes, I think that's the groom's name. I'm friends with the bride, Sakura-chan."

"Director Ogata gave me my role as Mio in Dark Moon," Kyouko said.


Ren came off set feeling rather impressed. He honestly had not known that Kanae was such a good actress and he told her so as she walked over to Hakimori with him. They were in the middle of discussing the scene when Ren picked up Yashiro's blatantly loud voice from the other side of the room.

His eyes darted over Hakimori's thin shoulder to a horrifying scene. Hayate was standing far too close to Kyouko for Ren's liking and judging by Yashiro's not too subtle shout they were talking about Director Ogata's wedding.

Yashiro's words from that morning echoed back at him like a broken record. Would you rather her take someone else? Ren had to bite his tongue to keep himself from shouting out "No!" right then and there. "Be subtle," he thought. "Subtler than Yashiro."

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Director, but could I ask you for a favor?" he said.

"What is it Tsuruga-kun?"

"The next scene involves Mogami-san, correct?"

"It does," Hakimori replied, beginning to see where things might be headed like the sly man that he was.

"Would you mind terribly if you began that scene immediately? I, uh, have to make a very important phone call before Mogami-san is on break again," he lied (and badly).

Kanae followed Ren's eyes to their current fascination. He had failed to look away from Kyouko and Hayate since he had seen them. "I'll go get her, shall I?" she offered.

She didn't want Kyouko involved with Hayate any more than Ren did. Frankly, Kanae found Hayate to be an annoying stalker completely unworthy of her beloved Kyouko, but that was just her warped opinion of things. Ren wasn't much better as far as worth went, but he was tolerable anyhow. She simply could not respect Hayate. She would personally make sure that Kyouko did not dare go to Ogata's wedding with Hayate.

"Mogami-san!" Kanae shouted to break off Kyouko and Hayate's conversation where it was, wherever that happened to be.

"Moko-san? I can't believe I missed the end of the scene!"

Kanae couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, and it's your turn now," she said. "You'd better go talk to the Director." Kyouko nodded and bounced away, not even saying anything to Hayate as she went. Things were looking better than she thought. For good measure though, Kanae turned a pointed glare on Hayate which was enough to scare him (and, if there were any around, several small children) away.

"I'm surprised they never cast you in a bully role, Kotonami-chan," Sorata teased, though she was glad to see Hayate go as well. Yashiro laughed and Kanae gave him a silencing, sour look. He gulped nervously, thinking that he should probably start worrying about his own love troubles for the moment.

"We were quite in agreement that your acting was fantastic, Kotonami-chan," Yashiro said feebly, still recovering from Kanae's look.

She smiled a bit and Yashiro felt a weight lift off his shoulders. "Thank you, Yashiro-san."

"Excuse us, Yashiro-kun," Sorata said. "I need to speak with Kotonami-chan." The older woman put an arm around Kanae's shoulders and steered her away from Ren's manager. "Now then," she continued. "You need to tell me all about what you're wearing to the wedding. I think I'll probably need your help finding something for Kyouko-chan. It's like getting my daughter ready for prom all over again."


Ren was feeling generally miserable about how his day had gone. He had nearly lost his precious control with Kyouko… twice. His only satisfaction was that he had prevented Hayate from asking Kyouko to be his date to Ogata's wedding, but even that victory was bittersweet. Who was he to play god with Kyouko's life?

He picked up his gear and fumbled with the lock on his dressing room door. Yashiro was nowhere to be found. Ren suspected that he was performing some form of damage control with Kanae. Apparently he had laughed at her expense or something. Always a bad idea. Even Ren knew that.

Ren should have seen it coming. He had sensed the displeased aura a mile away.

"Tsu-ru-ga-san," Kyouko declared, drawing out her syllables.

He turned slowly to face Kyouko. She was nearly twitching with agitation, which meant one of two things. Either she was going to yell at him or she wanted him to yell at her. He doubted it was the latter.

"Mogami-san?" he replied innocently. He tried to smile, but he was pretty sure it hadn't worked.

"You have been ignoring me since we began filming today," she said plainly. Her eyes were wide and gaping and they seemed to bore through his entire being. It made him very uncomfortable.

"That's not true," Ren began, but then he thought about it… oh. He supposed that he had been punishing himself for losing control and it may have inadvertently angered Kyouko.

"Lies!" Kyouko declared.

Ren looked down. "I'm… sorry…"

"No, I'm sorry," Kyouko said. The heavy atmosphere around them suddenly lifted.

"Huh?"

"I took advantage of you this morning and I made you feel awkward, Tsuruga-san. It wasn't fair and I understand why you avoided me." Ren blinked at her. It was all he could do. "I apologize," Kyouko declared, bowing impossibly low. "I will never put you in a situation like that again."

Ren patted her gently on the shoulder. "It doesn't matter," he lied. "Let's forget it all."

Kyouko smiled. "I would like that."

He felt better now. Seeing Kyouko smile like that had made him feel much less miserable. "I'm sorry for bringing it up again after I just insisted we forget," Ren said, "but I was just thinking, Mogami-san."

"What?"

"I think there's a way you can make it up to me."

"What is it?" Kyouko asked excitedly.

"Do you have a date for Ogata-kun's wedding, Mogami-san."

"No," she admitted softly.

"Be my date."